Quote:
Originally Posted by trueviking
There is also a lot of data to show when the design speed of a highway is increased, accidents also increase. The idea that building high speed interchanges increases safety is not necessarily correct. Speed and accident rates are almost always related.
If we really care about safety on the perimeter, by far the most effective solution is to reduce the speed limit to 80, not make the road bigger so we can drive even faster.
But of course we would never do that because it’s not really about safety.
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Ok I dont buy this argument. The whole reason we would upgrade the perimeter isn't to go faster, though it would be a perk of the improvement of flow.
The whole point is to remove the at grade meeting of a major highway with uncontrolled access points (number 1) and no. 2, to remove high volume access at lights which increases the likelihood of collisions too.
If you actually break down the numbers, the speed isnt the issue, it's the combination of speed with traffic going in different directions and causing the mixing of high and low speeds. Very few collisions happen outside of these parameters. However I'd venture a guess and say that it's possible that the relic that is the south perimeter (and all its dangerous features like curbs, lack of inside shoulder, lack of acceleration lanes, ad nauseam) is a significant factor in most of the collisions that take place between vehicles travelling in the same direction, without a doubt.
Not to mention the volumes of traffic at peak hours are beyond what a roadway like that should sustain.
A by-product of making the road safer and
bringing it in line with what drivers can expect in the rest of the developed world is that the speed of the roadway naturally increases.
Your suggestion of lowering the speed limit is the band aid solution. People won't likely slow down that much (psychological visual cues will cause them to drive much faster)
The perimeter is unacceptable and embarrassing for a mid sized city in the 21st century. The issue is just as big inside the city, don't get me wrong, but it would be irresponsible to suggest the solution would be to effectively do nothing.
And just for the record, I think that a really good transit network that reduces car use would be great, I'm a huge proponent for that, but the people using the perimeter likely aren't doing it at the expense of the transit system.